‘The Time Is Ripe’: UK Heads for Brexit, EU Chiefs Accelerate Plans for EU Army
SputnikNews.com
12.06.2017
French aviation giant Airbus is preparing to craft a new fighter jet, as the European Union moves ever closer to its dream of an integrated defense policy, and corresponding European army – plans which has accelerated considerably as the UK, arguably the continent’s foremost military power, prepares to exit the bloc.
Speaking to local media, Airbus’ military division head Fernando Alonso said financing for the new fighter had been provided from the governments of Germany and Spain, and he hoped France would also participate.
“We have to work together in Europe, there is no more space for two or three different systems. The time is ripe for making and implementing a decision [on common defense],” he added.
The Airbus project, the Future Combat Air System, will replace the Eurofighter and Tornado jet models in Germany, as well as Spain’s F16 fleet. If France was to join, the FCAS might also replace the Rafale, scheduled to become obsolete in 2030. In 2016, French officials suggested the Rafale might be replaced by American F35 fighters, although the election of eurosceptic Donald Trump has thrown the plans into question.
Moreover, a purchase from the US would also run contrary to the EU’s stated aim of achieving technological and strategic “sovereignty” as part of its defense plans, which will see €1.5 billion (US$1.7 billion) spent annually on EU-wide military research and development, and joint procurement fund designed to facilitate projects such as the FCAS.
The Rest…HERE
